Retrofitting the set of The Mousetrap to the old St. Joseph's sanctuary will be a challenge, but it's something producer Bill Muchow looks forward to. After performing at the Lakeville Community Theatre for two weeks the cast of Mousetrap will bring the Agatha Christie play to Rosemount Nov. 14-16.

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And while the move will throw a few kinks into the motor, Muchow said the cast should be able to adjust to the new venue.

"It presents some staging challenges but we can work this out," said Muchow. "You can do theatre just about anywhere."

Over the next week, the cast will get into the former church to fit it with the props and parts of the set. They also will rehearse to get the timing down in the new venue. Then on Friday evening, Applause will present for the first time in Rosemount.

"It's exciting to bring community theatre to Rosemount," said Muchow.

By bringing The Mousetrap to Rosemount, members of the Rosemount Area Arts Council hope to do two things. First, RAAC board member Dan McMenomy said, they hope to entertain Rosemount residents. Second, he said they hope to showcase what is possible with the former St. Joseph's building.

McMenomy said he thinks having the performance will be a good way to let residents see what's possible with the old St. Joseph's church and hopefully garner more support for its use as an arts center.

"(Applause) did something similar before the Lakeville theatre opened," said McMenomy.

The city of Rosemount owns the building. In 2007 it commissioned a task force to determine what the best use of the historic space would be. The task force recommended to the city council it be turned into an arts and cultural center.

The building has sat mostly vacant because of code compliance issues, specifically handicap accessibility. For the three performances, St. Joseph's school agreed to open up its fellowship area so the old church building could be used.

RAAC President Jeanne Schwartz said she is excited the RAAC can bring the play to Rosemount and hopes residents will turn out to the event.

"We feel that through this Rosemount residents will see the value of having an arts center in town," said Schwartz.

Mousetrap is a murder mystery. Muchow said it started as a radio show and was then turned into a play. It is the longest running play in history.